Block aligner



SePt- 3, 1963 4. L. PAGONA 3,102,339

BLOCK ALHIGNER Filed Aug. 19, 1960 IN VEN TOR. John L. Pagano H/s ATTORNEYSl y 3,102,339 Patented Sept. 3, 1963 y 3,102,339 Y BLOCK ALIGNER i .lohn L. Pagona, 19 Lincoln Ave.,`Nortlx Irwin, Pa.

Filed Ang. 19, 1960, Ser. No. 50,70

1 Claim. (Cl. 33 85) This invention relates to line holders-and the like, and

more particularlyy to Ian improved adju-stable line holder for holding and positioning a masons` line in an Voiset relationship to align and facilitate the laying-iup of dif- `ferent size building block, brick, etc.

Various aligners have been proposed in the past for at taching a masons lineto block and the like so` that additional courses -rnay be laid-up; however, none of these `devices have adequately set `forth a provision for stepping-` ol or olsetting selected portions of a course, such as with different sized block or brick. With known devices, it is necessary to first align the block of one size, and after completingthe laying-up vof block of that size, to' then re-align -to complete the course with` the block of a different size. j u y j i j j A further disadvantage which accompanies the known type of block aligners is that lthey do not hold and maintain the line directly along the edge of the block to be laid-up, ibut are raised or otset from the edge as much -as an eighth to a quarter or" an inch, which results in apprising -a wall structure.

A further disadvantage is encountered with known line holders when constructing offset courses in an excavation.

In such a situation, due to limited space between the wall of the excavation and the construction, it is necessary for the mason to work from the inside of the construction.

Since the inside surface-,of .the construction is usual-lythey planar surface, with the outside surface providing the offset, lknown line holders must be laligned along the f planar inside surf-ace of the construction.- As a result, it is necessary for the mas-on to lift the block up and over lowers the masons efficiency.

It thus has been an object of my inventionto solve the above-mentioned problems heretofore presented in `the mason construction art;

An additional object of my invention has'lbeen toprovide an improved block aligner for holding and positioning of a masons linein a pre-determined otfset relationship to align blocks of different widths within a single course;

A further object of my invention has been to provide an easily adjustable block aligner which is easily portable and economical to manufacture; j

A still further object of my invention has been to provide a block aligner which retains analignment line in contact with ran edge of the blocks whichy lare laid-up wit-hin the course upon which the aligner is appliedr An additional object `of my invention has been to provide an improved block aligner which, ,-upon a single setting, may retain a line in a stepped relationship along the 2 v versely through the adjustment slot with the adjustable slide in a backward position; and,

FIGURE 4 is fa perspective view illustrating the positioning of the block aligner on a block of one width for lining up blocks of that width along one ldirection and blocks of a smaller width along an Aopposite direction.

Referring now to the drawings, the block aligner 10 comprises a carrier bar 11, a slide bar 12, and ianend frame 13. The slide bar` 12 is slidalbly retained on'the carrier bar 11 by suitable means,'such las countersunk screws 15 and wing nuts 17. The screws 15 extend upwardly through counter-sunk bores 16, formed within the slide bar V12,v and through a longitudinally-extending adjustment vslot 14, formed in the carrier-)bar 11. Wing nuts 17 are threadable on the screws 15'and serve to adjustably secure the slide bar-12 in a pre-determined position on the carrier bar 11.

The slide bar 12 extends transversely-outwardly a greater distance than the transverse extentofthe carrier bar 11, and is provided with a plurality of bores 18, which yas shown, may be transversely aligned and positioned adjacent the outer edges of the carrier bar 11. A pin 19 extends 'fdownwardly through each of the bores 18 for guiding an alignment string or line S; The pins 19 may be retained within the bores 18 by any suitablemeans such as a friction tit or screw t. Also, fbroad headed nails may form the pins 19, rand when positioned downwardly preciable errorover the extent of numerous courses comthrough the bores 18, they Aare held in place |by the overlapping carrier bar -11.

The slide bar 12 is provided with an aligning forward ilange member 20 having a rear surface 21 which is in lalignment With a forward pair of the line positioning pins 19. As shown in the drawings, the forward flange 20 may be welded, such as at w, to an under portion of the slide bar 12.

The end ilange 13 is of an L-shape land has an ripper or horizontal portion 22 which is adapted to rest upon an upper surface of a block or the like, and a lower or vertical portion 23 which is adapted to tbe aligned against a side edge portion of such a block. As shown in the drawings, the end ilange 13 is scoured to the carrier bar 11 by any suitable means, such as a weld w.

, The slide bar 12 is provided with an indicator mark 24 which is positioned in transverse alignment with the forward pins 19 and the rear surface 21 of the forward flan-ge 20. A plurality of position marks 25 'are provided on the carrier 'bar 11, and may represent setting positions for such standard size blocks as the 8", l0", and 12 block.

In building construction it frequently becomes necessary to provide selective courses with an olset.` For instance, when it is desired to brick a structure to grade in hilly terrain, two diiierent sized block are required to be laid-up in a single course, so as yto facilitate the placement of brick along that portion of the course whichwill be above lground level. 'Iihe front and rear pins 19' or slide bar 12 are spaced-apart a'distance equal to the width of a nonmal brick. Therefore, as shown in FIGURE 4, the slide bar 12 may be positioned on the carrier bar 11 to {it-over the main block B and 1a line S is stretched from a line block or corner block (not shown) across a forward pin 19 `011 one `side of the lslide Ibar and diagonally-'backwardly across a rearward pin 19 on the opposite side of the slide bar to another corner block on the opposite end of the line.

When so positioned, the line S laying outwardly away from the left-hand side of the block aligner, shown in FIGURE 4, will adequately align the main sized block B alongthat extent, while the line S extending outwardly tothe right of the block aligner is offset from the outer edge Vof the block B a distance approximately equal to the average width of la brick so that the smaller block b 3 may Ibe adequately and convenien-tly aligned along the right-hand extent. When the block aligner 10 is positioned upon the block B, the Irearward pins 19 will project downwardly within the openings, recesses or holes h which are usually for-med in such blocks.

`It thus can be seen that my Iblock aligner eliminates the necessity of providing two separate and distinct alignments along la single course where it is desired to lay-up blocks of two dilerent widths, such as where it is desired to brick the lgrade and the igrade runs 'along a portion of that course. Further, since the line S is retained along the edge of the oiset side of the :block (which may be along the outside of the construction and adjacent the wall of an excavation), it is possible for a mason to work from the inside of the construction without interference with the line. The block aligner 10 is preferably made of aluminum, so as not only to be of light weight for ease in portability, =but also is thereby of a sturdy, durable and rugged construction.

Although -I have set forth my now preferred embodiment, it is understood that various changes and modifications may Ibe made thereto wihout departing 'from lthe spirit and scope of my invention as Idefined in the appended claim.

I claim:

An improved block aligner for use with blocks having vertically-extending recesses therein, for off-settably retaining a masons line so that blocks of two diterent widths may be llaid-up along the same course of a single wall portion with only one alignment operation comprising, a longitudinally-extending carrier bar having an end flange secured thereto -for alignment along one edge of a block that is parallel to the course, a slide bar slidably carried by said carrier 'bar for desired longitudinal adjustment thereon, a forward end ilange secured to an under surface of said slide bar fior alignment 'with an opposite edge of the -fblock to thus determine the longi- 'tudnal positioning of said slide bar on said carrier bar, means for securing said slide lbar in such pre-determined position on said carrier bar, and at least four pins mounted in longitudinally-spaced pairs on and extending downwardly from said slide bar, one of said pairs of pins being substantially aligned with said forward end ange.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 995,714 Platt June 20, 1911 2,030,539 Riley Feb. 11, 1936 2,612,695 Schneider Oct. 7, 1952 2,919,489 Espinosa Ian. 5, 1960 

